Before making a direct analysis of the work " Dark alleys"Bunin, let's remember the history of writing. The October Revolution passed, and Bunin's attitude to this event was unequivocal - in his eyes the revolution became a social drama. In 1920, after emigration, the writer worked a lot, at that time the cycle "Dark Alleys" appeared, which included various short stories In 1946, thirty-eight stories were included in the publication of the collection, the book was printed in Paris.
Although the main theme of these short stories was the theme of love, the reader learns not only about its bright sides, but also the dark ones. This is not difficult to guess, reflecting on the name of the collection. It is important to note in the analysis of "Dark Alleys" that Ivan Bunin lived abroad for about thirty years, far from his home. He yearned for the Russian land, but his spiritual intimacy with his homeland remained. All this is reflected in the work we are discussing.
How Bunin introduced love
It is no secret that Bunin presented the theme of love in a somewhat unusual way, not in the way that Soviet literature usually covered it. Indeed, the view of the writer has a difference and its own peculiarity. Ivan Bunin perceived love as something that suddenly arose and very bright, as if it were a flash. But that's why love is beautiful. After all, when love flows into simple affection, feelings turn into a routine. We do not find this in Bunin's heroes, since that very flash occurs between them, and then a parting follows, but a bright trace of the experienced feelings overshadows everything. The above is the most important thought in the analysis of the work "Dark Alleys".
Briefly about the plot
General Nikolai Alekseevich once had a chance to visit a postal station, where he met a woman whom he saw 35 years ago, and with whom he had a stormy romance. Now Nikolai Alekseevich is elderly, and does not even immediately understand that this is Nadezhda. And the former lover became the hostess at the inn, where they once met for the first time.
It turns out that Nadezhda loved him all her life, and the general begins to justify himself to her. However, after clumsy explanations, Nadezhda expresses the wise idea that everyone was young, and youth is a thing of the past, but love remains. But she makes a reproach to her lover, because he left her alone in the most heartless way.
All these details will help to make the analysis of Bunin's "Dark Alleys" more accurate. The General does not seem to repent, but it becomes clear that he never forgot his first love. But he didn’t succeed with his family - his wife cheated on him, and his son grew up as a spendthrift and an unscrupulous insolent.
What happened to your first love?
It is very important to note, especially when we are analyzing "Dark Alleys", that the feelings of Nikolai Alekseevich and Nadezhda managed to survive - they still love. When the protagonist leaves, he understands that it was thanks to this woman that he felt the depth of love and saw all the colors of feelings. But he abandoned his first love, and now he is reaping the bitter fruits of this betrayal.
One can recall the moment when the general hears from the coachman a review about the hostess: she is driven by a sense of justice, but at the same time her temper is very "cool". Having lent money to someone at interest, she demands a return on time, and whoever did not have time, let him answer. Nikolai Alekseevich begins to reflect on these words and draws parallels with his own life. If he had not abandoned his first love, everything would have turned out differently.
What got in the way of the relationship? An analysis of the work "Dark Alleys" will help us to understand the reason - let's think: the future general had to connect his life with a simple girl. How would others look at this relationship and how would it affect the reputation? But in the heart of Nikolai Alekseevich, feelings did not fade away, and he could not find happiness with another woman, nor could he give a proper upbringing to his son.
The main character Nadezhda did not forgive her lover, who made her suffer a lot and in the end she was left alone. Although we emphasize that love did not pass in her heart either. The general could not go against society and class prejudices in his youth, and the girl simply resigned herself to fate.
A few conclusions in the analysis of "Dark Alleys" by Bunin
We saw how dramatic the fate of Nadezhda and Nikolai Alekseevich was. They broke up even though they loved each other. Both were unhappy. But we emphasize important thought: through love, they learned the power of feelings and what real experiences are. These best moments of life remained in the memory.
As a through motif, this idea can be traced in the work of Bunin. Although everyone may have their own idea of love, thanks to this story, you can think about how it moves a person, what it encourages, what mark it leaves in the soul.
We hope that brief analysis you liked the works of "Dark Alleys" by Bunin and turned out to be useful. Read also
I. A. Bunin is the first of the Russian writers who received Nobel Prize, who has achieved popularity and fame at the world level, has fans and associates, but ... deeply unhappy, because since 1920 he was cut off from his homeland and yearned for her. All the stories of the period of emigration are imbued with a sense of melancholy and nostalgia.
Inspired by the lines of the poem “An Ordinary Tale” by N. Ogarev: “All around the scarlet rose hips bloomed / There was an alley of dark lindens,” Ivan Bunin had the idea to write a cycle of love stories about subtle human feelings. Love is different, but it is always a strong feeling that changes the lives of the characters.
The story "Dark Alleys": a summary
The story "Dark Alleys", of the same name to the cycle and being the main one, was published on October 20, 1938 in the New York edition of " new earth". The main character, Nikolai Alekseevich, accidentally meets Nadezhda, whom he seduced and abandoned many years ago. For the hero then it was just an affair with a serf girl, but the heroine seriously fell in love and carried this feeling through her whole life. After the novel, the girl got her freedom, began to earn her own living herself, currently owns an inn and "gives money on interest." Nikolai Alekseevich ruined Nadezhda's life, but was punished: his beloved wife left him as meanly as he himself had once done, and his son grew up a scoundrel. The heroes part, now forever, Nikolai Alekseevich understands what kind of love he missed. However, the hero, even in his thoughts, cannot overcome social conventions and imagine what would have happened if he had not abandoned Nadezhda.
Bunin, "Dark Alleys" - audiobook
Listening to the story "Dark Alleys" is unusually pleasant, because the poetic nature of the author's language is also manifested in prose.
The image and characteristics of the protagonist (Nikolai)
The image of Nikolai Alekseevich causes antipathy: this person does not know how to love, he sees only himself and public opinion. He is afraid of himself, of Hope, no matter what happens. But if everything is outwardly decent, you can do whatever you like, for example, break the heart of a girl for whom no one will intercede. Life punished the hero, but did not change him, did not add firmness of spirit. His image personifies the habit, everyday life.
The image and characteristics of the main character (Hope)
Much stronger is Nadezhda, who was able to survive the shame of an affair with a “master” (although she wanted to lay hands on herself, she got out of this state), and also managed to learn how to earn money on her own, and in an honest way. The coachman Klim notes the mind and justice of a woman, she “gives money at interest” and “gets richer”, but does not profit from the poor, but is guided by justice. Hope, despite the tragedy of her love, kept her in her heart for many years, forgave her offender, but did not forget. Her image is the soul, sublimity, which is not in origin, but in personality.
The main idea and main theme of the story "Dark Alleys"
Love in Bunin's "Dark Alleys" is a tragic, fatal, but no less important and wonderful feeling. It becomes eternal, because it remains forever in the memory of both heroes, it was the most precious and bright in their lives, although gone forever. If a person has ever loved like Nadezhda, he has already experienced happiness. Even if this love ended tragically. The life and fate of the heroes of the story "Dark Alleys" would be completely empty and gray without such a bitter and sick, but still amazing and bright feeling, which is a kind of litmus test that tests a human personality for strength of mind and moral purity. Hope passes this test, but Nikolai does not. This is the idea of the work. You can read more about the theme of love in the work here:
Collection of short stories "Dark Alleys" by I.A. Bunin wrote away from his homeland, being in France and worrying about the consequences of the October Revolution and the difficult years of the First World War. The works included in this cycle are filled with motifs of the tragic fate of man, the inevitability of events and longing for the native land. The central theme of the collection of short stories "Dark Alleys" is love, which turns out to be closely associated with suffering and a fatal outcome.
Central to understanding the writer's intention is the story of the same name in the collection "Dark Alleys". It was written in 1938 under the influence of a poem by N.P. Ogaryov “An Ordinary Tale”, where the image of dark alleys is used, as well as the philosophical thoughts of L.N. Tolstoy that happiness in life is unattainable, and a person catches only his "lightning" that needs to be appreciated.
Analysis of the work of I.A. Bunin "Dark alleys"
The plot of the work is based on the meeting of two already elderly people after many years of separation. To be precise, the story refers to 35 years since the last parting. Nikolai Alekseevich arrives at the inn, where he is met by the hostess Nadezhda. The woman calls the hero by name, and he recognizes his former lover in her.
Since then, a whole life has passed, which the loved ones were destined to spend separately. The thing is that Nikolai Alekseevich left a beautiful maid in his youth, who then received a free from the landowner and became the mistress of the inn. The meeting of two heroes raises inside them a whole storm of feelings, thoughts and experiences. However, the past cannot be returned and Nikolai Alekseevich leaves, imagining how life could have turned out differently if he had not neglected the feelings of Nadezhda. He is sure that he would be happy, reflects on how she would become his wife, mother of children and mistress of the house in St. Petersburg. True, all this will remain the unrealizable dream of the hero.
Thus, in the story "Dark Alleys" there are three main plot points:
- The hero's stop at the inn
- Meeting former lovers
- Reflections on the road after what happened
The first part of the work is an episode before the characters recognize each other. The portrait characterization of the characters prevails here. It is the social difference between people that is significant. For example, Nadezhda addresses the visitor “your excellency”, but the hero allows himself “Hey, who is there”.
The foundational moment is the meeting, which marks the second part of the plot. Here we see a description of feelings, emotions and experiences. Social boundaries are dropped, allowing you to get to know better actors, to counter their thoughts. Meeting with Hope for the hero is a rendezvous with his conscience. The reader understands that she has retained her inner integrity. Nikolai Alekseevich, on the contrary, feels his life is useless, aimless, he sees only its commonness and vulgarity.
The third part of the story is the actual departure and conversation with the coachman. For the hero, social boundaries are important, which he cannot neglect even for the sake of high feelings. Nikolai Alekseevich is ashamed of his words and revelations, regrets that he kissed the hand of the innkeeper and former lover.
Such a structure of the plot makes it possible to present love and past feelings as a flash that unexpectedly illuminated the ordinary and bored life of Nikolai Alekseevich. The story, built on the memories of the hero, is an artistic device that allows the author to tell about familiar things in a more exciting way and make an additional impression on the reader.
In the text of the work there are no instructive intonations, condemnation of the actions of the heroes or, conversely, manifestations of pity for them. The narrative is based on the description of the feelings and emotions of the characters, which are revealed to the reader and it is he who will have to evaluate what happened.
Characteristics of the main characters of the story "Dark Alleys"
In a positive light, the image of Hope appears. From the story we learn about her not so much, but this is enough to draw certain conclusions. The heroine is a former serf who is now the owner of a state-owned postal station. Having grown old, she continues to look beautiful, feel light and “out of age”. Nadezhda was able to get a good job in life thanks to her intelligence and honesty. The coachman, in a conversation with Nikolai Alekseevich, notes that she “gets richer, gives money in interest”, i.e. on loan. The heroine is characterized by practicality and enterprise.
She had to go through a lot. The feelings from the act of Nikolai Alekseevich were so strong that Nadezhda admits that she wanted to lay hands on herself. However, she was able to survive the difficulties and become stronger.
The woman continues to love, but she failed to forgive the betrayal of her beloved. She boldly declares this to Nikolai Alekseevich. The wisdom of Nadezhda arouses the reader's sympathy. For example, to the general's attempts to justify his act of the past, she replies that youth passes for everyone, but love never. These words of the heroine also speak of the fact that she knows how and can truly love, but this does not bring her happiness.
The image of Nikolai Alekseevich is in many ways opposed to Nadezhda. He is a nobleman and a general, a representative of high society. He made a good career, but in his personal life the hero is unhappy. His wife left him, and his son grew up to be an insolent and dishonorable person. The hero looks tired, while his former lover is full of strength and desire to act. He once long ago abandoned love and did not know it, having spent his whole life without happiness and pursuing false goals. "Everything passes. Everything is forgotten” – such is the position of the hero in relation to happiness and love.
Nikolai Alekseevich is already about 60 years old, but when he meets Nadezhda, he blushes like a young man. The military man recalls with shame that he left his beloved, but does he have the strength to fix what happened? No. The hero again chooses the easiest way and leaves.
The spiritual weakness of the character, the inability to distinguish true feelings from the "vulgar, ordinary story" doom him and Nadezhda to suffering. Nikolai Alekseevich can only remember the past, his love, which "gave him the best moments of his life."
The love between Nadezhda and Nikolai Alekseevich turns out to be doomed, and the history of their relationship is full of drama. Why did it all happen? There are several reasons. This is also the weakness of the hero, who pushed away his loved one and did not see the future in his feelings for her. This is the role of prejudices in society, excluding the possibility of a relationship, and even more so marriage, between a nobleman and an ordinary maid.
The difference in views on love also predetermined the dramatic fate of the characters. If for Nadezhda feelings for a loved one are loyalty to oneself, a driving force that inspires and helps her in life, then for Nikolai Alekseevich love is a moment, a past story. The irony is that this particular moment, this part of life associated with an ex-lover, was the best moment in all years.
In Bunin's story "Dark Alleys" the characters meet by chance after thirty years of separation. Nikolai Alekseevich in his youth loved the serf girl Nadya, who was amazingly beautiful. She carried her feeling through her whole life, despite the fact that Alexey left her. The life and fate of the protagonist did not work out, despite the high rank, he is unhappy. The characterization of the heroes of the work is given through their dialogue, description of behavior at a meeting, internal monologues. The names of the characters also play a peculiar role in the work: Nikolai Alekseevich was once Nikolenka, then he was happy.
Characteristics of the heroes of “Dark Alleys”
main characters
Nikolai Alekseevich |
A man in his sixties, tall, slender, similar to Alexander II. In his youth, he loved a serf girl, but married a woman from his class. The author shows the main character indecisive, tired, unhappy. He tries to justify himself, says that everything passes ... He tries to find out if Nadezhda forgave him, tells her about the failed marriage, that she is the brightest thing that he had in his life. There is a share of cowardice and immaturity in the behavior of even an elderly hero; he runs away from the owner of the inn, citing haste. |
Hope |
Simple, sincere, hardworking, economic, smart. She is 48 years old. The coachman speaks of Nadezhda as a fair, honest, enterprising woman. She did not marry, the love of youth became the meaning of life for her. Strong, strong-willed nature: she could not forgive Nikolai. This image arouses sympathy in the reader, in contrast to the elderly general. In conversation, she is straightforward, frank, does not evade and is not ashamed of her life. seeing off old love Nadezhda looks out the window for a long time after his chariot. Perhaps she hopes that at least now he will decide on an act. |
Minor characters
Conclusion
Ivan Bunin is a sensitive connoisseur human souls, a master of the artistic word in the sphere of feelings, relationships, emotions. The story was written by the author during the period of emigration, which is why he is so poignant, touching, beautiful. The main characters of "Dark Alleys" could not build their lives because of the norms and foundations accepted in society, which Nikolai Alekseevich did not have the courage to break. This is the whole tragedy of the situation: the free, aged lover of Nadezhda, having escaped from her, runs away from himself all his life. A list of characteristics of heroes will help in compiling reader's diary or writing an essay.
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Ivan Bunin went down in history, first of all, as a famous Russian poet of the early twentieth century, a period called the "Silver Age" of Russian literature. However, a considerable number of prose works belong to his pen, which occupy far from the last place in the golden fund of Russian literary creativity. As a prose writer, Bunin was noted for his famous collection "Dark Alleys" and the story of the same name, in which he talked about love, fate and other complex things that make up human life. The wise Litrecon offers you an analysis according to a plan. Summary you will find books with quotes.
The history of writing the story "Dark Alleys" is Interesting Facts which shed light on the author's intention:
- The story "Dark Alleys" was created by Bunin as part of a large collection of short stories. During this period of his life, Bunin lived in exile, having left Russia after the events of the seventeenth year. The disappointment and loss of the writer, which he felt after the death of the usual way of life of the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, aggravated by a difficult life in a foreign country, found their way out on the pages of his collection.
- Bunin began work on the collection in 1937, and in 1938 he also wrote the story "Dark Alleys". The story was first published in New York in 1943 in the publication "New Earth". However, the main layer of work was completed only in 1945.
- The epigraph to the story was a quote by L.N. Tolstoy: “Love does not understand death. Love is life." Each book in the series is dedicated to different facets of this feeling.
- While writing the work, the author suffered from loneliness and poverty, because pre-war and wartime in Europe was characterized by power outages and increased prices for the most necessary products.
Direction and genre
The story "Dark Alleys" was created as part of the literary direction. The writer strives for the most naturalistic recreation real life. The images, speech and actions of the characters created by him look as authentic and organic as possible. The reader can believe that the events told by Bunin could have happened in real life.
In terms of genre, Dark Alleys is a short story. The plot covers a short period of time and a minimum number of characters. And the absence of any specifics emphasizes the typicality of the situation described in this work.
Composition
The story is divided into three logical parts: the main character arrives at the inn, carries on a conversation and leaves.
- The first part contains an exposition that shows us the main characters and tells the background.
- The second part is reserved for the eyeballs and climax, the characters start a conversation, remember the past, this revives in them, it would seem, long-dead feelings.
- In the third part, there is a denouement, and after it the finale: the heroes interrupt the conversation and say goodbye forever.
The meaning of the name
The title of the story "Dark Alleys" carries several meanings. First of all, for Bunin, dark alleys are a symbol of the past, a bygone era of his youth. The story itself is dedicated to thinking about the past, about lost prospects and missed happiness.
The meaning of the title "Dark Alleys" is partly explained by its source: I.A. Bunin took it from Ogarev's poem "An Ordinary Tale":
All around rosehip scarlet blossomed
There was an alley of dark lindens ...
Russian poetry reminded him of something that cannot be returned: the beautiful gardens of noble estates, a secluded life under the canopy of lindens, the unhurried passage of time.
The title also touches on the theme of fate and love, the unpredictability of human life, when a seemingly long-passed and forgotten stage of life can again meet on the path of a person at the most unexpected moment. The alley is a reflection of the life path, dark and hidden from prying eyes.
Bottom line: what is the story about?
One autumn day, an old military man named Nikolai stops to rest in a private room near the post office. He starts a conversation with the hostess, it suddenly turns out that the hostess of the room is his old lover Nadezhda, with whom they had an affair many years ago.
The heroes begin to remember the past, but the memory brings them nothing but pain. After parting, the girl never found her happiness. All these years, Nadezhda thought only of Nikolai and could not forgive him for leaving her.
The protagonist, tormented by conscience and doubts, leaves in a hurry, thinking about how his life could have turned out if he had acted differently. The Wise Litrecon wrote more about the plot in. There you will also find a review for the reader's diary.
Main characters and their characteristics
The characteristics of the heroes and the system of images in the story "Dark Alleys" found their place in the table:
| Nikolai Alekseevich | a man about sixty years old. Nobleman. Military. A slender old man with a stern but tired look. Faced with his past, he shows weakness and indecision, choosing to run away from it. In his youth, he was carried away by a peasant woman, but left her without regrets when he found a woman of his circle. But family life did not ask: his wife left him, and his son did not live up to expectations. |
| Hope | a beautiful forty-eight-year-old woman who looked like a gypsy. Endowed with strong feelings and a long memory. So she could not forget Nikolai and find her happiness, harboring a grudge against him for the rest of her life. Once she was a simple peasant woman, but over time she was able to create her own business and develop her economy. An honest and sincere woman could not get married at the cost of deceit, because all her life she loved one person. |
Themes
The theme of the story "Dark Alleys" reflects the content of the entire Bunin cycle. The wise Litrecon will supplement this section if there is a need to write about it in the comments:
- Love in Bunin's work it is represented by a powerful and dangerous force that rarely brings real happiness to a person, and most often brings him only new suffering and regret. However, moments of passion are the best thing that happens to people. Feelings shine brightest in the memory.
- Fate- this story shows us how, it would seem, the most ordinary short-term romance can affect the fate of a person. Nikolai could not build his happiness on Nadezhda's misfortune. His act turned into a mirror repetition: first he abandoned, then they abandoned him.
- Moral Choice. The story is also filled with regret about the past, reflections on whether a person is able to make a choice on his life path, and whether he is able to make this choice correctly. Nikolai drives away the thought of what would happen if he married Nadezhda, because he is afraid to admit his mistake.
- Nostalgia. The heroes have suffered greatly from love, but diving into the past causes them to discover a happiness that is no longer there. It turned out that those first moments of passion and youth were the very happiness that the characters so lacked in the future.
Problems
The problematics of the story "Dark Alleys" can also be increased in volume if you write to Litrekon what is missing.
- Treason- in fact, Nikolai betrayed love, forgot his beloved, leaving her to her fate. Having shown selfishness, the hero broke the life of a girl who sincerely loved him all her life.
- Despair- life in Bunin's work is shown as a difficult and unpleasant "alley", which brings suffering and trials to a person. None of the characters ended up being happy. Nikolai was disappointed in the family, and Nadezhda was disappointed in love.
- Social inequality. Nikolai remained a master for Nadezhda, which is why he left her so easily. With a woman of his circle, he could not do this, because society would condemn him. It also prevented him from choosing Nadezhda, because a peasant woman is not a couple for a master.
- Revenge and generosity. Nadezhda was never able to forgive her offender. His frivolity offends her in conversation. All this time he did not even remember the one whom he left, but she loved, suffered and could not let go of the memories of separation.
Main idea
The meaning in the story "Dark Alleys" can be clearly traced: this is Bunin's longing for the past, his reasoning about his fate, the fate of his generation and the fate of Russia itself. His thoughts are about lost happiness, about a life lived in vain and the vicissitudes of a cruel fate. Nadezhda is a reflection of everything national, Russian, devoted and morally whole, and Nikolai is a weak and cowardly representative of the ruling noble class, who, in the form of his beloved, left Russia, but did not become happier or freer from this. It turned out that only she loved and accepted him for who he is. In the image of Nadezhda, Bunin sang of his homeland - patient, meek, strong, but tormented, offended by betrayal.
He also shows us the power of love and how frivolity in a relationship can harm both the person himself and everyone around him. The main idea of the story “Dark Alleys” is a warning to those who are still walking along the dark alley of life in search of happiness: it may already be there, you just need to see it and not let it go.
What does it teach?
The story "Dark Alleys" teaches us how important it is not to change love, not to play with it, because deceived love gives rise to despair, breaks a person's mental health, leaving a painful wound on his soul. That is the moral of the piece.
"Dark Alleys" makes us think about whether we are able to influence our own destiny. They urge us to think about the consequences of our actions, not to go through life frivolously and selfishly, because one day our actions will return to us in full.
Criticism
The collection was written and published during the Second World War, it was during this period that Bunin, who had been in fierce opposition to the USSR all this time, began to gradually change his views, seeing the heroic struggle of the Soviet people with an external aggressor.
Bunin never returned to Russia, but after his death, his works, among which were Dark Alleys, began to be published in the USSR, where they were highly appreciated by literary critics, and were eventually recognized as part of the Russian literary heritage.
Interesting reviews and scientific work modern researchers. For example, T.V. Marchenko analyzed Bunin's author's style:
In this book, T.V. Marchenko (following L.V. Pumpyansky) believes that Bunin’s art (including later) is only akin to the art of modernism, but in general relies on the classics, since it seeks to resurrect with the utmost precision and intensity (in a different context, the more traditional “reflect ") real world. For three decades, Bunin has been developing "artistry" in Russian prose, a direction associated with the work of G. Flaubert, and then moves in parallel with the search for M. Proust. Bunin has some modernist features (the method of narrative fragmentation), and some (irony or play) are absolutely alien to Bunin's poetics.
Literary critic Yevgeny Ponomarev noted that Bunin's work is continuous: one idea flows smoothly from the previous one.
The Life of Arseniev uses a number of earlier texts, is revised several times during the publication process, and continues or does not continue. Out of the sketches for the second volume of the novel, the idea of "Dark Alleys" grows. But "Dark Alleys" unfolds endlessly in Bunin's work, forming a large circle of stories that the writer either includes or does not include in a new potential edition.
He also highlights the modernist features in the story and notes Bunin's innovation:
"Dark Alleys" - the beginning of Bunin's movement from the modernist manner of writing towards strengthening reflection and literary play. In the first "programmatic" story, which opens the book and bears the same name, the former mechanism of reflection is still preserved, albeit in a more complicated form. The heroes met many years later, their lives over the past years are marked with a dotted line, in the finale the hero mentally draws an alternative plot: “What if I had not left her? What nonsense! This same Nadezhda is not the keeper of the inn, but my wife, the mistress of my St. Petersburg house, the mother of my children?”